A typical electrical connector includes some form of dielectric housing which mounts a plurality of conductive terminals. The housing may be molded of plastic material and the terminals may be stamped and formed of sheet metal material, for instance. The connector will mate with a complementary connecting device or a second mating connector, whereby the respective terminals of the connectors are engaged to establish an electrical circuit(s) through the mating connectors. For instance, a receptacle or female connector matingly receives a plug or male connector.
With the ever-increasing terminal density of electrical connectors, it has become increasingly difficult to mold the cavities within which the terminals are inserted into the connector housings. An example is in the automotive industry where a single connector which, itself, may have size restrictions must mount an increasing number of terminals for conducting multiple circuit functions within the vehicular system. In order to increase the number of terminals, the spacing between the terminals must be decreased. The terminals are surrounded by plastic material of the connector housing that performs several functions: namely, lead-in of the inserted terminals, alignment of the terminals and providing side electrical insulation from adjacent terminals. The insulation is accomplished by walls molded about the terminal-receiving cavities. These walls must be made thinner and thinner to increase the number of terminals that a given connector can receive. Other than the fact that there is a limit to the thinness of the walls, most terminals are elongated and the respective terminal-receiving cavities have considerable lengths. Even the terminals, themselves, are miniaturized. All of these reductions in size parameters make it extremely difficult, if at all possible, to mold the side walls of terminal-receiving cavities in such high density connectors. The present invention is directed to solving these problems.